No money for DNA tests: Families of missing Indian youths recruited in Russian army

Singh said that each youth was given around Rs 1.95 lakh Indian currency per month. in addition to Rs 7 lakh upon recruitment into army, Rs 2.5 lakh on opening a bank account, Rs 30 lakh if injured. However, agents withheld bank information and swindled the money.
Representative image.
Representative image. Express Illustration
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3 min read

CHANDIGARH: The Indian Embassy in Moscow recently requested the families of two missing Punjabi youth who had served in the Russian Army to send DNA test reports. However, the families claimed that they do not have money to even conduct the DNA tests.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had earlier said that 16 Indian youth recruited in the Russian forces were still missing.

Rajya Sabha MP Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal took up the issue of missing youth in Russia with MEA and said only eight of them had returned till now. He had appealed to the union government to bring back the Indians as soon as possible and take strict action against the agents involved in this racket.

Mandeep Kumar from Goraya in Jalandhar, who had fought in the Russia-Ukraine war, has been missing since March 3 last year. His brother Jagdeep Kumar told TNIE that the Indian Embassy in Moscow had asked his family to provide a DNA report of their mother for identification purposes.

"The embassy sent us an email asking for the DNA report of our mother. Also, the family of Budh Ram Singh who went missing in Russia in March last year was contacted and told to send the DNA report of Sinder Pal Kaur, the mother of Budh Ram. However, both the families cannot afford to get the DNA tests done due to the financial conditions, as a DNA test costs around Rs 23,000," Jagdeep Kumar said.

Representative image.
Youth returns home after months of forced combat in Ukraine, says over 25 Indians stuck in Russian army

"A week back I wrote email to the Ministry of External Affairs seeking help and a way out. In a reply, the MEA has sought time to provide help but after that, their was no communication from them or the Indian embassy in Moscow, we are just waiting for their response, will they help or not," MP Singh said. He added that the family of another missing youth who belonged to Amritsar had sent their DNA test report.

Singh also said that he plans to approach the MPs and MLAs in this regard in the coming days, as to date the state government has not helped them.

Singh claimed that two Delhi-based travel agents promised Indian youth that they will be recruited in the Russian Army as 'helpers' and flew them to Moscow. There, the youngsters were made to sign documents written in Russian language.

"They are told that they will work as helpers with the Russian army and dig trenches or wash clothes or cook. Then they are given basic training for 15 days on the pretext of self defense. Then they were put on a train, later, on a bus and sent to the frontline to fight alongside Russian soldiers in the war against Ukraine," he said.

He alleged that if they refuse to fight they were tortured.

Singh said that each youth was given around Rs 1.95 lakh Indian currency per month. Upon joining the Russian Army, they are given Rs 7 lakh, Rs 2.5 lakh on opening a bank account, Rs 30 lakh if injured.

"But they never get this money as the travel agents take away their bank details, passwords and ATM cards on the pretext that they will send the money back home to their families. They never send and take out the money from their accounts and themselves swindle off," he added

Jagdeep Kumar said that when youth join the Russian Army, they are allotted numbers for their identification. He added that he only recently got to know that the number they had shared with him two months ago, was not his brother's but of someone else named Brijesh from UP's Azamgarh.

In another similar incident, Rakesh Yadav and five others who had returned from Russia were called back by the agent for the job of Home Guard. But as soon as they reached there, they were forcibly recruited in the Russian army.

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